Wanna write for ParentsConnect?

Here's the deal: I'm now in charge of gathering together literally hundreds of short (150-500 words) essays-that-aren't-really-essays for ParentsConnect*, which is a Nickelodeon/MTV/Viacom website for parents of children of all ages.

Here's what you need to know: You do NOT need to be a 'writer' to get in on this. We're currently calling these essays-that-aren't-really-essays Blabs, because that's really what they are: little blabby email-to-your-friend type things that talk about your feelings/emotions/reactions to some parenting topic, whether good or bad. We don't want stories with a narrative; we don't want things all tied up in a pretty little bow at the end. We want things that look at parenting as it really is--a work in progress. So, for instance, we have a blab from a parent who is, in the piece, literally standing in her child's doorway, trying to decide whether or not to go in and search her kid's room, because she thinks she smelled pot on his clothes yesterday, and what will it mean if she does go in and ransack the place? Or we have a blab from a parent who talks about how she really doesn't like kids other than her own. Or we have a blab from a parent who is exulting because he forced his daughter to get involved in a drama production at school, and now she loves it. In other words, it doesn't have to be all bad, sad, deep, dark stuff. It just has to be about *you* rather than about how cute or annoying your children are.

Here is more of what you need to know: There's a TON of paperwork to fill out to be paid the (yes, measly, very measly) $35 per accepted Blab that we pay. We have a 3-Blab limit right now per Blabber, so that means at best I'll be putting an extra $105 in your pocket. But, hey, why not, right? More than the money, you'll be able to say that you were 'published' by Nickelodeon. And you'll get some stuff of your chest.

So, if you're interested...and I hope you will be...drop me a line at tinycoconut@gmail.com, and I'll take it from there. No need to send writing samples or anything like that, though if you want to tell me what you'd like to write about for your first Blab, that would be great. At that point, if you want to see examples of what I'm looking for, I'll send you a couple, along with a document that explains a little bit more about all of this.

Feel free to pass this along to family, friends, other bloggers, email groups...you know the drill. I will literally need at least a hundred people even just to get this started! (Have I mentioned there's work stress in my life? And this is the FUN stuff for me!) Oh, and if you already said you were interested in something like this before now, chances are you're on my "people to respond to" list, and you'll be hearing from me or one of my colleagues VERY soon.

*Note: There's a reason there's no link here. That is because, while ParentsConnect does very much exist at the moment, the version of ParentsConnect that these Blabs will appear on doesn't resemble the one you can see if you click that link. The focus is different, the voice is different, the content is different, the architecture of the site is different...you get the point.

Physician, heal thyself

I was just sitting here, typing away, when I realized I was already 15 minutes late to get Em from school.

The kicker? I was writing a series of parenting tips for the not-so-soon-to-be-revamped ParentsConnect website.

Tip #1: Don't forget to pick up your child at school, you moron!

And what did my way-too-sarcastic-for-my-own-good 9-year-old have to say when I finally did arrive? "Oh, Mom. How nice of you to make the time to come and pick me up!"

You reap what you sow, I fear.

(It wasn't a huge catastrophe; she and her friend C were on a long line waiting for sno-cones...part of the Friday Treats fundraiser the school puts on. And C's grandma was there with them. No harm done, except to my reputation.)

A Young Poet

Each week, Em is supposed to take a certain number of her fourth-grade spelling words and do three out of a list of about 12 possible activities with them. For the last couple of weeks, she's chosen to write a poem. They're interesting poems, being that they have to contain certain words, and that she's still finding her way in the world of written language. Overall, I find her use of language rather sophisticated, though her grammar (and, ironically, her spelling) are not.

But what got me this week was not so much the poem (copied below, in all its line-break-lacking grammarless glory), but what I saw when I looked up at the child who stood before me, asking if she could read said poem to me. All I can say is that nobody will ever accuse my child of not looking the part.


Em's Poem

A trees trunk is really tall or really short. They sometimes have fruit hanging from them. And in the morning due will fall on the leaves. When it is going to rain the dull sky will have an attitude and pour on the poor tree. And in the morning after I slumber I will get a orange from the tree and make juice. As I look at the tree I know it's life as a tree will continue.

[Spelling words: trunk, due, dull, attitude, slumber, juice.]